Spray nozzle



' Feb. 28,1950 I A. H. BAHNsoN, JR 4 SPRAY NOZZLE Filed- May 5, 1946 Patented Feb. 28, 1950 UNITED v:sTares PATENT OFFICE .AgnewHaBahnson 'Jn, Winston-Salem, .N. 0., asz'sign-or .to Katharine King Bahnson, Winston A licant-unity 1946, Serial No. 666,861

This invention relates to spray nozzles, and more particularly to spray nozzles of the type including a whirl chamber "having an axially located outlet-orifice. Such spray nozzles are employedin various arts andindustries, for example as 'lawn sprinklers, and in .air washers and humidifiers, to effect the atomization of a liquid which is forced through thenozzle orifice under pressure.

Various constructions for such spray nozzles have been proposed and, in general, the prior constructions have been open to the objection that they failed to afford a satisfactory compromise between the conflicting design requirements of economy in manufacture and economy in operation.

An object of the present invention is to provide spray nozzles of such mechanical design and construction that only a relatively few standard parts must be kept in stock to manufacture spray nozzles of different operating characteristics. Another object is to provide a spray nozzle of improved and simplified construction in which the parts subject to wear can be readily and economically replaced. Another object is to provide a nozzle of the type stated which permits the installation of shims or washers of different thickness between the nozzle housing and an interior stem to obtain an accurate control of the spray pattern. A further object is to provide a spray nozzle of the type stated in which a thin centrally perforated disc of stainless steel or other erosionresistant material is press fitted into the nozzle housing to provide a discharge orifice of desired dimensions.

These and other objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the following specification when taken with the accompanying drawing, in which Figure l is a top plane view of the spray nozzle embodying the invention; and

Figure 2 is a longitudinal section on line 2--2 of Fig. 1.

A spray nozzle embodying the invention comprises a housing I having an inlet end '2 provided with appropriate means, such as external threads 3, for attaching the housing to a pipe or receptacle which delivers fluid under pressure to the nozzle. of the inlet section of the housing, but the outlet section of the housing is offset to such extent that the fluid passage 4 discharges tangentially into the whirl chamber 5 at the outlet section of the housing. The upper wall of the whirl chamher 5 is provided with a centrally located dis- 1 Claim. (01. 299-114) A fluid passage 4 extends axially 2 charge outlet 6, and an imperforate .stem 1 extends upwardly into proximity .to the "outlet 6 from "15118 screw-threaded base .member 8 which forms the bottom wall of the chamber '5. The orifice .6 rand stem l :are accurately alined on the axis of the-chamber when, :as is preferred, the outlet section of theihousingis machined from its lower surface to shape the whirl chamber .5, to form the outlet 1 and ,to thread the housing to receive-therhasememberifl;

Referring now to Figure 2, it will be noted that stem 1 which is integral with the screw-threaded removable base member 8 is provided with a face portion which slopes downwardly and outwardly, the bottom thereof being shaped in such manner as to gradually blend into the circumferential wall of swirl chamber 5 of the housing I. This feature is important since it provides a smooth inner chamber surface having no obstruction thereon which would interrupt the whirling and upwardly spiraling fiow of the fluid to be sprayed. The upper portion of the swirl chamber is contracted inwardly to terminate in a relatively shallow cylindrical portion 9. v

The tip of the stem 1 is located within the lower end of the cylindrical portion 9 of the chamber 5, and the upper end of the cylindrical portion preferably extends radially of the axis of the housing outlet 6 and the stem 1. The outlet 6 may be initially drilled to an appropriate diameter to serve as the spray orifice of the nozzle, or it may be initially drilled to a somewhat larger diameter when the spray orifice is the central bore of a thin disc In which is press-fitted into the housing to seat upon the radial flange at the upper end of the cylindrical portion 9 of the whirl chamber. The discs Ill are of stainless steel or other erosion-resistant material, and they may be manufactured in various stock sizes of different thickness and different orifice diameters. It is preferable to include the orifice discs in the original installation when a relatively rapid erosion of the nozzle parts is anticipated, but the orifice discs may be omitted from the original installation when the conditions of use are such that there will be only a slow or negligible erosion of the nozzle parts. The orifice discs may be readily inserted into the nozzles after appreciable increase of the size of the housing outlets 6 by erosion and, when eroded, the discs can be driven or pressed from the nozzles and replaced by new orifice discs. I

The original length of the stem 1 is preferably somewhat greater than that which affords most efficient operation, and a shim ll of the required 3 thickness is inserted between the housing I and the flanged end of the base member 8 to position the tip of stem 1 at the desired distance from the spray orifice. The spray pattern and/or the emciency of operation vary with this axial adjustment of the tip of the stem 1, and the spray nozzles to meet different design requirements may be assembled from housing parts of a single standard construction by an appropriate selection of the thickness of the shims ll. Furthermore, the useful life of the spray nozzles may be prolonged by substituting new and thinner shims II when the tips of the stems l are worn away after a more or less extended use. Similarly, the dimensions of the spray orifice affect the spray pattern and the efiiciency of operation. Manufacture to a given design requirement is thus possible with housings l and base members 8 of a standard size through the use of outlet discs ll) of different thickness and having orifices of difierent diameters.

It is to be understood that the invention is not restricted to the exact construction herein shown and described, and that various changes may be made in the typical illustrated construction without departure from the spirit of the invention as set forth in the following claim.

I claim:

A spray nozzle comprising a housing provided with a fluid passage opening tangentially into a whirl chamber having an axial outlet, the wall defining said swirl chamber being contracted inwardly to terminate in a shallow cylindrical portion adjacent said outlet, the outer end of said cylindrical portion extending radially of the axis of the swirl chamber to form a disc seat, a discharge orifice disc frictionally retained on said seat, an upstanding imperforate stem arranged co-axially of said chamber and terminating within said cylindrical portion in proximity to said disc, the lower portion of said chamber being counterbored and threaded, and a base member threaded into said lower portion of the chamber, said stem being integral with said base member and having a flaring portion merging smoothly into said housing wall which defines the swirl chamber.

AGNEW H. BAHNSON, JR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 530,620 Maher Dec. 11, 1894 936,537 Hull Oct. 12, 1909 1,692,853 Mulholland Nov. 27, 1928 2,220,227 Gifiord Nov. 5, 1940 2,415,794 Keep Feb. 11, 1947 

